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REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE CONTROL AND REGULATION OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN ZAMBIA FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE THIRTEENTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Published by the National Assembly of Zambia TABLE OF CONTENTS ITEM PAGE NO 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.0 6.1 7.0 8.0 9.0 Composition of the Committee Functions of the Committee Meetings of the Committee Procedure Adopted by the Committee Auditor General’s Comments Background to the Audit Motivation of the Audit on the Control and Regulation of Illegal Migrants in Zambia Audit Objective Audit Scope Coverage Audit Questions Methodology Sources of Assessment Criteria Consideration of Submissions on the Audit Findings and Observations Major Findings and Observations and Recommendations of the Committee Conclusion Appendix I – List of National Assembly Officials Appendix II – List of Stakeholders 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 10 11 12 ii REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE CONTROL AND REGULATION OF ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN ZAMBIA, FOR THE SECOND SESSION OF THE THIRTEENTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 1.0 COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE The Committee consisted of: Brig Gen Morgan Sitwala (Rtd), MP (Chairperson); Ms Sibongile Mwamba, MP (Vice-Chairperson); Mr Phillimon Twasa, MP; Mr Walusa Mulaliki, MP; Mr Sunday Chanda, MP; Mr Lusale John Simbao, MP; Mr Mweemba Malambo, MP; Mr Cliff Mpundu, MP; Mr Sipho Hlazo, MP; and Mr Christopher Chibuye, MP.
2.0 FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE The functions of the Committee are set out in Standing Orders No.

197 (k) and 198(g) of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021.

3.0 MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE The Committee held ten meetings to consider submissions on the Report of the Auditor General on the Control and Regulation of Illegal Migrants in Zambia.
4.0 PROCEDURE ADOPTED BY THE COMMITTEE In order to better appreciate the issues raised in the Report, the Committee requested both written and oral submissions from various relevant stakeholders.

5.0 AUDITOR GENERAL’S COMMENTS The Auditor General reported that the Performance Audit Report on the Control and Regulation of Illegal Migrants in Zambia was conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article 250 of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act, No.

2 of 2016.
2 of 2016.

5.1 BACKGROUND TO THE AUDIT The Committee was informed that Zambia is a transit and destination point for men, women and children for various reasons such as labour migrants, asylum seekers, irregular migrants and victims of human trafficking from within the Southern Africa Region and beyond.
In this regard, the Committee learnt that Zambia had not been spared from the influx of illegal immigrants, hence the need to ensure the effective control and regulation of immigrants to ensure national security.

The audit was carried out in order to establish the extent of security measures put in place to control and regulate illegal immigrants.
5.2 Motivation of the Audit on the Control and Regulation of Illegal Migrants in (i) Zambia The Auditor General stated that the audit was motivated by the fact that Zambia had not been spared from the influx of illegal immigrants.

The Committee learnt that, according to the Zambia migration profile 2019, the number of irregular migrants identified and 1 detained in Zambia was 8,244 in 2017.
The Committee learnt that these illegal immigrants had originated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Horn of Africa, Malawi and Mozambique.

(ii) Media reports had also shown that the country had experienced an influx of prohibited immigrants in the country, where it was reported that Zambia had deported 115 prohibited immigrants after a massive clean-up exercise across the country.
In addition, it was reported that foreign nationals had been arrested for illegal stay or entry into the country through unorthodox means such as entry through the use of containerised trucks, crossing through prohibited borders and, thereby, violating the terms and conditions of their visa and passport.
(iii) The Committee learnt that the Department of Immigration in February 2019 had apprehended 104 persons for various immigration offences, including unlawful entry and stay, carrying out business ventures without a permit and failure to comply with conditions of employment permits.

(iv) In November 2020, the Department of Immigration carried out a clean-up exercise in which about sixty five illegal immigrants were arrested in Lusaka.
Among those arrested included twenty four Burundians, twenty one Democratic Republic of Congo nationals and eleven Tanzanians.

The immigrants were arrested for trading without permits, unlawful entry and unlawful stay.

(v) The most recent incident reported was in Chipata, Eastern Province on 22nd April, 2021 in which seventy six illegal immigrants of Ethiopian origin who were bundled and disguised as maize bran in a truck.

The truck was impounded and the occupants were arrested.
The arrests were confirmed by the Public Relations Officer at the Department of Immigration.

(vi) The Committee learnt that prohibited immigrants deprived native workers of employment as the immigrants were seen working in saloons, barbershops and at times in big organisations which would have been occupied by indigenous Zambians.

The Committee was also informed that peace and order in a country was compromised as some prohibited immigrants tended to engage in crime.
(vii) The Committee learnt that debates raised on the Floor of the House on the management of prohibited immigrants in Zambia were a motivation for the need to undertake this audit.

In the debate dated Tuesday, 3rd May, 2016, Members of Parliament raised concerns on the need to amend the Immigration and Deportation Act No.

18 of 2010, in order to provide for a penalty fee for persons that contravened the law.
5.3 5.4 Audit Objective The overall objective of the audit was to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the control and regulatory measures instituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, through the Department of Immigration, in managing immigrants in the country in order to contribute to national security.

Audit Scope Coverage The Committee was informed that the audit period was from 2018 to 2021.
The target population was the Department of Immigration under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

The sample size consisted of twenty-four out of the 116 districts, seven 2 immigration regional offices and forty-four business premises were also visited.

The sample size was purposively selected based on the areas where levels of activity of illegal immigrants were highly noted, as well as limited resources allocated for this assignment.
The areas visited included selected districts in Lusaka, Eastern, Copperbelt, Luapula, North-western, Central and Southern provinces.

5.5 Audit Questions The audit questions were as follows: a) How has the Department of Immigration ensured the existence of a regulatory legal to national, regional and international framework which conforms requirements on managing migrants?

b) How has the Department of Immigration ensured effective control, administering and regulation of migrants?
c) How has the Department of Immigration ensured coordination with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders in the management of migrants in the country?

5.6 Methodology To gather audit evidence, interviews, document reviews and physical inspections were conducted.

5.7 Sources of Assessment Criteria The Committee was informed that the assessment was drawn from the following sources: (i) Immigration and Deportation Act, No.
18 of 2010; (ii) Ministry of Home Affairs Strategic Plan 2016 -2021; (iii)Department of Immigration Standard Operations Procedures; and (iv) International Organisation for Migration Guidelines 6.0 CONSIDERATION OF SUBMISSIONS ON THE AUDIT FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS The Committee considered submissions from the identified stakeholders and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.
The submissions of these stakeholders and the Permanent Secretary, as well as the observations and recommendations made by the Committee are set out below.

6.1 MAJOR FINDINGS (a) Development of the Migration Policy Submissions by Stakeholders Stakeholders who appeared before the Committee stated that the National Migration Policy was launched on 2nd December 2022.
The Committee was, however, informed that the policy could not be operationalised, as it awaited the realignment of the principal Act, the Immigration and Deportation Act, No.

18 of 2010.

In this regard, the Committee was informed that the Department was to review Immigration and Deportation Act in order to ensure that it is aligned with the Policy.
In addition, the Committee was informed that a concept note on establishment of 3 a holding facility for illegal immigrants had been developed and submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security for consideration.

Stakeholders however informed the Committee that there was need to expedite the amendment of the Immigration and Deportation Act, No 18 of 2010, which would support the implementation of the Migration Policy.
Submission by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security The Permanent Secretary submitted that the National Migration Policy was launched on 2nd December 2022 and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security was leading its implementation process.

In this regard, sensitisations on the Policy were commenced, and the review process of the Immigration and Deportation Act, No.
18 of 2010 had commenced, as a way of aligning it to the Policy with the view of enhancing the rights of migrants.

Further, the Ministry was considering a proposition to establish a holding facility for illegal immigrants only.

As regards prioritising resource allocation to the Department of Immigration, the Permanent Secretary submitted that Cabinet had approved a separate Budgetary Head (Budgetary Head 23) for National Immigration Services.
This development had resulted in the ceiling being determined by the Treasury.

In this regard, the Department of Immigration received higher allocation in the 2023 Budget which is intended to address prevailing challenges that hampered operations.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee recommends that the Government should demonstrate its commitment to the implementation of the Migration Policy.
In this regard, the Committee recommends that the Government should expedite the amendment of the Immigration and Deportation Act, No 18 of 2010, in order to support the operationalisation of the Migration Policy.

(b) Security at Ports of Entry and Border lines Submissions by Stakeholders Stakeholders who appeared before the Committee agreed with the Auditor General’s Report that Zambia was recording an overwhelming number prohibited immigrants from some neighboring countries and beyond.
The categories of migrants that were in the country included labour migrants, asylum seekers, undocumented or irregular migrants and victims of human trafficking.

In this regard, stakeholders informed the Committee that the Government should strengthen border control measures by investing in technological equipment, and infrastructure to enhance surveillance and monitoring of entry points.
Stakeholders stated that while majority of the immigrants were transiting through the country to other countries, some of them remained in the country to conduct businesses and artisanal jobs in order to support their families in their countries of origin.

Stakeholders further informed the Committee that much of Zambia’s border line was unmanned due to lack of human resource thereby posing a security risk.
In this regard, stakeholders stated that there was need to expedite the amendment of the Immigration and Deportation Act, No 18 of 2010 so that it could provide for introduction of border guards to secure the porous border line.
Also, stakeholders agreed with the Auditor General’s Report on the prevalence of corruption and bribery in the immigration system, where some officials received bribes in exchange for allowing undocumented individuals to enter or remain in the country, a situation which undermined efforts to control and regulate illegal immigration.
To address this problem, stakeholders stated that the 4 Government should take a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and bribery in the immigration system, with strict penalties for officials who would be found to be engaging in such activities.

Meanwhile, some stakeholders informed the Committee that Zambia had established border control mechanisms to monitor the entry and exit of individuals at its official ports of entry, such as airports, land border crossings, and seaports.
These control measures included passport checks, visa verification, and immigration interviews to determine the purpose and duration of the visit.

Submission by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security The Permanent Secretary submitted that a new organisational structure for the Department of Immigration had been approved, creating One Thousand Four Hundred and Sixty (1,460) new positions, including One Hundred and Ninety (190) Border Guards.
So far, there was treasury authority to fill 255 positions, which among them included the recruitment of border guards for the first time to exclusively patrol border lines for enhanced security.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations 1.

The Committee recommends that the Government should employ and deploy more immigration officers to address the problem of illegal immigrants.
Further, the Committee recommends that the Government should expedite the amendment of the Immigration and Deportation Act No 18 of 2010, in order to provide for the introduction of border guards to secure the porous border lines.

2.

The Committee recommends that the Government should provide adequate financial, support to the Department of Immigration to ensure effective operations of the Department and control and regulation of the illegal migrants in the country.
In this regard, the Committee recommends that the Government should strengthen border control measures by investing in technology and infrastructure development to enhance surveillance and monitoring of entry points.

3.

The Committee recommends that the Government should take concrete steps to sensitise traditional leaders and the general citizenry along the border lines about the socioeconomic impact of illegal immigration on national security.

4.
4.

The Auditor General’s Report revealed a high prevalence of corruption and bribery in the immigration system..

The Committee learnt that some officials received bribes in exchange for allowing undocumented individuals to enter or remain in the country.

The Committee strongly recommends that the Government should take a zero-tolerance approach to corruption and bribery in the immigration system.

This can be done by stiffening penalties for officials found to be engaging in such activities.
(c) Availability of Infrastructure at Internal Offices and Border Control Stations Submissions by Stakeholders Some stakeholders, stated that Zambia lacked adequate infrastructure at some designated ports of entry while some neighboring countries had the necessary infrastructure which included office space and housing units.
Stakeholders also informed the Committee that the Department of Immigration and other law enforcement agencies operating at the borders had been working in dilapidated buildings which were vacated by other Government institutions.

In most instances, 5 these buildings were old and not conducive to be used as office spaces.

In this regard, stakeholders stated that there was need for the Government to put in place the necessary infrastructure at designated border posts.
Stakeholders further stated that the Department of Immigration lacked administrative holding facilities and temporal shelters for vulnerable migrants and suspected illegal migrants.

The absence of these holding facilities resulted in such migrants, including children, being detained in police cells and correctional centres alongside criminals.
In addition, stakeholders informed the Committee that the Department did not have places where confidential interviews and assessments of migrants in need of services could be conducted.

Stakeholders submitted that the absence of all these facilities infringed on the right to privacy of the migrants.

In this regard, stakeholders informed the Committee that the Government should build requisite infrastructure for the Department of Immigration to address the various challenges faced in the course of duty.
Some stakeholders submitted that the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security's Ministerial Housing Project, under which several houses for officers were constructed, had been resumed, and phase two of the project would cover Luapula, North Western, Southern, Eastern, and Western Provinces.

Stakeholders submitted that the Ministry was equally addressing the challenge of dilapidated office infrastructure through rehabilitation of the buildings.
Submission by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Security With regards to the availability of infrastructure, the Acting Permanent Secretary submitted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security was one of the key stakeholders in the process of control and regulating illegal migrants in the country, particularly with respect to labour migrants.
The Acting Permanent Secretary, however, submitted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security faced similar challenges with the Immigration Department., and these challenges included lack of work infrastructure, transport for carrying out inspections, equipment for occupational Health and Safety and inadequate staff personnel to implement the expected activities.
Submission by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security The Permanent Secretary submitted that under the first phase of construction of housing units for security wings, the Department of Immigration had 71 housing units constructed in different locations.

The Ministry had also improved other border infrastructure in some border areas among them: Mwandi, Lukulu, Mokambo and Kipushi Border Posts.
The Ministry had continued to engage the Treasury on provision of more resources for construction of more housing units and improvement of other border infrastructure for the Department of Immigration.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee recommends that the Government should build requisite infrastructure such as office buildings and housing units for immigration officers in all designated border posts.
The Committee further recommends that the Government should provide administrative holding facilities and temporal shelters for vulnerable migrants and illegal immigrants.
(d) Inspection of Business Premises Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that the Immigration Department did not have adequate human resource to conduct inspections for all the available permits, namely; residence permit, employment permit, investors permit, spouse permit, study permit, diplomatic permit, visiting 6 permit, cross border permit, temporary employment permit and many more.
In this regard, the Committee was informed that the Government should recruit more immigration officers who would carry out inspections of all business premises, including other categories of immigrants.

The Committee was further informed that the Government should consider establishing robust systems for verifying travel documents by use of advanced technology and biometrics.
The Committee was, however, informed that the Government should put together a systematic but random immigration screening culture, where all security personnel should be psyched to always ensure to confirm the authenticity and legality of any person.

This would enforce an awareness of the seriousness that the Zambia attached to having legal individuals in the country.
It would also assure that few individuals would be willing to be in public places without carrying their legal national or immigration documentations.
Submission by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Security The Acting Permanent Secretary submitted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security was also incorporated in the inspection of business premises where foreigners operated from such as workplaces and educational institutes, so as to ascertain the genuineness and viability of the establishment.
Submission by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security As regards the monitoring of compliance to permit conditions, the Permanent Secretary submitted that the Department had upgraded the Zambia Information Management System (ZIMS) by introducing features that enhanced the verification of immigration status.

For instance, officers could check the immigration status of a suspect by using a smart phone.
Further, following the increase in funding to the Department of Immigration as a result of the creation of budgetary expenditure head, the Department had allocated more resources for operations leading to increased frequency of clean-up operations to ensure compliance.

With regards to training and capacity building of immigration officers, the Permanent Secretary submitted that the proposal to establish a dedicated school was under consideration.
To this effect, forty hectares of land had been secured from the Zambia Correctional Service in Nyangu area, Kaoma, for the construction of a training school for the Department of Immigration.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee observes that the Immigration Department does not have adequate human resource to conduct inspections for all the available permits, namely; residence permit, employment permit, investors permit, spouse permit, study permit and many more.
In this regard, the Committee recommends for the following listed hereunder.

1.

The Government should recruit more immigration officers to carry out inspections of business premises, including other categories of immigrants.

The Committee further recommends that the Government should consider establishing robust systems for verifying travel documents by use of advanced technology and biometrics.

2.
2.

The Government should enhance competencies of officers who are charged with reviewing and making recommendations for work permits.

In this vein, consideration should be given to include the Zambia Qualifications Authority on the committee that reviews the employment permits.

This will strengthen the review and approval processes.

7 3.

The Government should put together a systematic but random immigration screening programme.
This will avoid the rise in the numbers of illegal immigrants in the country.

4.

The Committee recommends that the Government should amend the Immigration and Deportation Act, No.

18 of 2010, in order to provide for delegated powers to the Permanent Secretary or the Director of the Immigration Department to deal with appeals in the absence of the Minister.
Alternatively, the Committee recommends that standard operating procedures and mechanism should be put in place to expedite the processing of appeals for rejected permits.

Appeals can be reviewed by different persons other than those in the Department of Immigration.

In this regard, the Committee is of the view that an immigration tribunal should be instituted to which an applicant may appeal after the initial rejection by the Director General.
This will avoid appealing twice to the same authority that rejected the initial applications.

The appeal may then be followed by a final appeal to the Minister.
(e) Availability of Skills Set in aiding the Issuance of Employment Permits Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that the Department of Immigration should expedite an engagement with the Ministry of Labour and Social security, in order to acquire much data regarding the skill set in which immigrants should be issued with work permits in a manner that does not disadvantage Zambians who had skills in the same fields.
Submission by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Security The Acting Permanent Secretary submitted that the Immigration and Deportation Act, No.

18 of 2010 provided for regulation of the entry and the remaining within Zambia of immigrants and visitors.

It also provided for the removal from Zambia of criminals and other specified persons.
In this regard, the Acting Permanent Secretary submitted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security sat on the Immigration Permits Committee to deliberate and approve permits to foreign nationals, and the function of this committee was to ensure that exceptionally skilled or qualified people stayed in Zambia.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security in this regard, provided guidance on the job market and skills availability which was the basis through which permits were granted.
The Acting Permanent Secretary further submitted that the Ministry of Labour and Social security ensured that there is dignity in the conditions of work and protection for the employer and the employees respectively.

Further, the functions of the Skills Advisory Committee fall under this Ministry in order to carry out research in expatriate skills which were required in the country.
In this regard, the process of Zambianisation was promoted by the Skills Advisory Committee which ensured that certain categories of employment were restricted to Zambian citizens where it was necessary in the interest of state security.

Additionally, this committee ensured that Zambian citizens were accorded priority in respect of an opportunity for employment, where affirmative action in employment and labour relations was taken in favor of the citizens.
Submission by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security The Permanent Secretary submitted that the Ministry was collaborating with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on the provision of a skills set database which was being developed.
8 Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee recommends that in order not disadvantage Zambians, the Department of Immigration should engage the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to acquire information on the specific skills in which immigrants should be issued with work permits.
(f) Implementation of the Zambia Information Management System Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that the Department of Immigration had managed to roll out Zambia Information Management System to 62 out of 98 stations countrywide, which translated to 63 per cent of the stations which were installed with the system.
Stakeholders further submitted that plans were under way to further rollout ZIMS to nine immigration border controls namely; Muyombe, Sikongo, Shangombo, Kanyala, Sinda Misale, Jimbe, Kaputa, and Muwezi.
In the same vein, eleven internal offices namely Mumbwa, Itezhi tezhi, Kaoma, Senanga, Zambezi, Samfya, Mbala , Kawambwa, Isoka and Mafinga would be connected to the ZIMS network as the Department’s quest to have accurate, timely and adequate disaggregated migration data which was key to improving service delivery, policy development and decision making.
In the same vein, the Committee was informed that the Government should expedite the issuance of digital National Registration Cards, Passports and Birth Certificates, and possibly introduce biometric system for easy identification of who is Zambian and who is an immigrant.

These documents must be integrated and should bear the same serial number to make it hard for illegal immigrants to forge them.
Submission by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security The Permanent Secretary submitted that as of 2nd May 2023, the Department of Immigration had rolled out the ZIMS to 62 out of 98 stations country-wide.

The system had been integrated with other systems such as the Government Service Bus and PISCES systems just to ensure that the national monitoring was improved by sharing data.
The Permanent Secretary further submitted that in the remaining months of the year 2023, ZIMS would be rolled out to nine Immigration Border Controls namely: Muyombe, Sikongo, Shangombo, Kanyala, Sinda Misale, Jimbe, Kaputa, and Muwezi.
Also, eleven internal offices namely: Mumbwa; Itezhi tezhi; Kaoma; Senanga; Zambezi; Samfya; Mbala; Kawambwa; Isoka and Mafinga were being connected to the ZIMS network to ensure that the Department of Immigration provides accurate, timely and adequate disaggregated migration data for improved service delivery.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations 1.


The Committee recommends that the Government should establish a centralised database to store information on illegal immigrants, including their country of origin, mode of entry, and length of stay.

This will allow for more effective monitoring and tracking of cases, as well as better coordination between agencies responsible for regulating and controlling illegal immigration.

2.
2.

The Committee recommends that the Government should expedite the issuance of digital National Registration Cards, Passports and Birth Certificates.
The introduction of the biometric system should also be expedited to further ease the identification of Zambians 9 APPENDIX I - LIST OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OFFICIALS Mr F Nabulyato, Principal Clerk of Committees (SC) Mrs C K Mumba, Deputy Principal Clerk of Committees (SC) Mr G Zulu, Acting Senior Committee Clerk (SC 2) Mr E Chilongu, Committee Clerk Ms A Mulale, Administrative Assistant Mr D Lupiya, Committee Assistant Mr M Kantumoya, Parliamentary Messenger 11 APPENDIX II – LIST OF WITNESSES OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION DRUG ENFORCEMENT COMMISSION ZAMBIA CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ZAMBIA TOURISM AGENCY HEALTH PROFESSIONAL COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA ZAMBIA POLICE SERVICE ENGINEERING INSTITUTION OF ZAMBIA ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF MARKETING INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MIGRANTS MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY 12